Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

That is the case. It is really that simple. They would rather see the country fail than see the government succeed. We have seen this on display in this House day after day in recent weeks: opposing the stimulus package and opposing the bank guarantee—two initiatives which are absolutely fundamental to supporting the Australian economy, to supporting growth and to supporting employment. They were opposed in toto by those opposite.

When I was at the G20 finance ministers meeting on the weekend I learnt that these are measures which have been implemented by conservative governments around the world. They have not been condemned for being risky. They have implemented them because they are prudent, because we are in extraordinary circumstances. But there is not one measure this government has put in place that those opposite have seen fit to support in order to support Australian jobs. It simply shows that they do not understand the magnitude of the challenge and they have no positive solutions to that challenge. That ignorance has been on display in the House again today as it has been on display since we produced the Nation Building and Jobs Plan some weeks ago, because they would rather see the country fail than see the government succeed. That is the truth of it. They cannot support fiscal stimulus, they now cannot support the Economic Security Strategy and they cannot support the Nation Building and Jobs Plan despite the fact that conservative governments around the world are supporting such initiatives. Everyone sitting around the table at the G20 in London over the weekend was supporting substantial fiscal stimulus, they were supporting measures to stabilise the financial system and they were supporting bank guarantees, but the only people, just about in the world, who cannot support these measures are the Liberal and National parties in Australia. That just shows how out of touch they have become because they are not concerned about Australians losing their jobs; they just want to score a political point.

In the face of potential job losses in the commercial property sector, what has the opposition had to say? This is what the Leader of the Opposition had to say on 26 January. He said, ‘Let the market take its course.’ That is a recipe for lower growth; that is a recipe for higher unemployment; that is a recipe for higher debt; and that is a recipe for human tragedy. That is what it is a recipe for. There were political parties at some stages in this country many years ago who argued that, and it was those sorts of policies that promoted the deepest downturn in the history of this country and the globe. They are at it again, because they would rather see the country fail; they do not want to see the government succeed in dealing with these extraordinary circumstances as we are. So their policy is just to sit and wait and do absolutely nothing. Well, this government will do everything within its power, everything that is responsible, to support jobs and growth in this community.

I have been away for two sitting days. Watching them in the House today I could not believe how embittered those opposite have become. The type of tactics deployed in the House here today were tactics that are really foreign to this parliament. We have an opposition that is so embittered, so consumed by its hatred of the government, that it will not engage in a decent debate about the future of policy and about what we are doing to cushion this country from the effects of a global recession which is growing more savage day by day and week by week. They have a strategy that would simply let tens of thousands of Australians go to the wall.

The Australian people expect more from the opposition and it is not too late for them to see sense. If they do not support this legislation and projects fail and jobs are lost, it will be entirely on their heads. If they do not support this bill and if, in the weeks ahead, jobs are lost as a result of their opposition, that will be entirely on their heads. ABIP is an important part of the government’s response to cushioning Australia from the effects of the global economic crisis. The government is acting responsibly in supporting Australia’s commercial property sector. We are doing it because it is important and because it is a measure that is required by the circumstances of the day. We are acting prudently, with a range of safeguards in place, to help protect the interests of Australian taxpayers. I commend the legislation to the House.

Question put:

That the motion (Mr Tanner’s) be agreed to.

See this speech in context